WAAAAaayyyy back when I first became aware of diesel engines, I started asking questions from those experienced in diesel operation and maintenance. The earliest tidbit of info I received was, that for maximum life and freedom from failures, the absolutely BEST thing you can do for a diesel engine, is KEEP THE FILTERS CLEAN!
And of course, use GOOD quality filters as part of that treatment.
One such approach to better filtering, as related to engine oil, is use of an efficient high quality bypass oil filter. There are many good brand choices out there, and bypass oil filtration is pretty common on many diesel engine types, including commercial 18-wheel trucks.
Here's what I use:
That filter does NOT replace the existing stock fuel filter, it simply provides a separate additional filter down at lower particle sizes that the stock full-flow filter misses.
I first started using the Frantz brand of bypass filters back in the late 50's , on the Chevy small block engine in the truck I had at that time - in fact, that's my ORIGINAL Frantz base and clamp from that first filter from the 50's seen in the above picture - I still use the original outer canister as well, and rotate it in use with the one seen here. I'm no stranger to bypass oil filtering, so figure I'm as qualified as any to give a rundown on what they are, and what they can do. And yeah, especially in those earlier years, I heard all the usual misinformed comments from critical guys related to use of TP or paper towels as a filtering material - "Toilet paper belongs in the bathroom, not an engine!" and "Hell, that TP will just all fall apart when the oil hits it, and end up down in the pan, or WORSE!"
WRONG!
Bypass oil filtration involves diverting a very small percentage of the engine's oil flow from the lube system, and running it thru a high-density filter cartridge at a low flow rate to provide filtration of impurities and contamination down at particle sizes FAR smaller than a stock full-flow filter is capable of.
Here's a pic of the flow restriction in one of my Frantz filters:
YUP - that little 1/8 diameter hole is where all the oil flows thru on the way to the filter cartridge.
The diverted flow is quite small, and poses no risk to overall lube flow and pressure. A stock oil filter is typically adequate in filtering down in the 10-20 micron range - but a bypass filter like the Frantz pictured above will take out stuff down in the
SUB-micron range!
Why is that significant? Because wear particles larger than 2-3 microns are capable of bridging the usual layer thickness of oil film in rings and bearings, and causing accellerated engine wear - and obviously, the stock filters are pretty useless down at those particle sizes.
A filter like the Frantz uses a toilet paper cartridge as the filter material, and a new TP cartridge loaded in the filter canister ready to install, looks like THIS:
The bypass oil flow must pass LENGTHWISE thru that entire compressed roll of TP before being returned to the engine - believe me, it gets VERY well filtered by the time it comes out the other end!
Frantz website:
www.wefilterit.com
Frantz sells their own brand of excellent specially produced TP replacement cartridges - but I've always used a good off-the-shelf brand selected for it's quality and tightly wound characteristics that guarantee best filtering qualities:
These Scott rolls cost about 80 cents a roll - not too hard on the wallet!
I usually swap in a new TP cartridge replacement every 3000 miles or so - or typically 1-2 changes for every oil change - and that also requires adding a quart of new oil to make up for what's absorbed by the old/new TP cartridge.
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White '02 Quad cab, NV5600, GAUGES! Comp, Walbro, DTT SS intake, Rip's 4 in. exhaust, Don M's 1.6's, DSS, Frantz oil bypass & fuel filters, Amsoil air filter, MOBILE Ham Radio-IC-706, 600 watt amp, '88 Kit 24 ft. 5er, 418 HP/978 Tq., 24 ft KIT 5er.
Last edited by Gary - K7GLD : 01-06-2006 at 07:00 PM.